Home and the Heartland
by Firefly-Maj
Summary: When Aragorn is in his darkest hour, he has only his thoughts and memories to keep him going, but at one point, it might not be enough... Slightly A/U, major angst, some fluff, no Slash. A lot of Elladan and Elrohir. Rated M for Safety.
1. Darkness

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or storylines, it is all J.R.R. Tolkien´s!

Chapter 1: Darkness

Aragorn woke up in darkness; for a moment, he tried to remember where he was, but to no avail; his mind was foggy to a certain extent, and he had to concentrate hard to hold even one thought. The air was damp and stale, and he felt terribly cold; his body ached from half lying, half sitting against a stone wall, but when he wanted to get up he found that he was heavily chained. Further investigations confirmed this: not only his wrists and ankles were manacled, but heavy chains wound around his chest, waist and knees as well. Aragorn groaned when he realized that he was not able to move at all, and apart from that, his contorted position together with the chains did not make breathing easy.

The man tried to suppress his rising panic; whatever had happened, he was in serious trouble now, and as long as he was bound like this, he could not even try to defend himself against whoever was holding him captive.

Miserably, Aragorn closed his eyes, leaning his face against the cold stone: he would have to wait. He did try to sleep, though, as his head ached fiercely, and he felt slightly dizzy.

--

Elrond, the lord of Imladris, was having tea with his twin sons, who had come to visit, when suddenly he felt a sensation of great sadness overcome him. He deeply drew in his breath, and Elladan, who had noticed that his father´s look had become slightly unfocused, paused: "Ada? Is something wrong?" "I do not know", Elrond replied slowly and absently, then he suddenly looked up: "I am sorry. It may be nothing, I just..." here he trailed off again, causing Elladan and Elrohir to exchange a glance. Just a second later Elrond asked to be excused, got up and walked away hastily.

"Now that was peculiar", Elladan stated, somewhat at a loss. Elrohir grinned wickedly: "Maybe he just could not endure your neverending stories any longer." "Excuse me?", Elladan said in mock disbelief.

Elrohir shrugged: "Well, either that or something IS wrong indeed."

--

Aragorn had lost sense of time completely; it was always dark, and he could not manage to stay awake for long, as his body had quickly been worn out by the ordeal the chains were putting it through. Pain ruled every part of him; his arms and legs felt numb due to the cold, he was thirsty beyond any description, his stomach ached with the lack of food even though he did not feel hungry, and he still could not remember what had happened.

Even worse than that was the feeling of having been forgotten; although he dreaded to finally meet his captor, he wondered why no one had shown up so far.

He drifted in and out an uneasy sleep, sometimes seeing pictures of people, but not knowing if they were dreams or memories.

**TBC**


	2. Certainty

Chapter 2: Certainty

Elrond stood on his balcony and stared out into Imladris without actually seeing anything; he was deep in thought, having spent the last few days to try and detect where that feeling had come from. It had not diminished yet but rather grown stronger, and it had changed slightly: now it was not only sadness but it was sadness mixed with fear, and the elf still did not know what to make of it.

Elrond thought about his absent children; he knew Arwen was well, having just received word from the Lady Galadriel, but he had not heard from Estel for some time now. He sincerely hoped that nothing was wrong with his foster son, who lived out in the wild; the elves were fully aware that dark forces had started to stir in the east and evil creatures were on the move once more, and Elrond often feared for his youngest child due to that knowledge. He had come as far as that, when someone knocked on his door, sounding urgent.

"Come in", Elrond called and sighed softly; whatever it was, it would probably take him some time to find out.

The door opened, and the captain of the guards stepped in: "I am sorry to disturb you, Lord Elrond, but something has happened." Elrond tried not to show his mounting fear: "What is it, Tiriel?" "One of our patrols has found a body,", Tiriel said, "just outside the borders. They have reason to believe that the person has been murdered a few days ago."

Elrond balled his hand into a fist: "Have they been able to identify the victim?", he asked, his voice barely audible.

Tiriel shook his head: "It was not an elf, but looked like an elderly human. He wore monk´s clothes and had a donkey with him... the animal has been slain as well, both of them were shot." Tiriel fell silent, his eyes pained at the thought.

Elrond nodded, feeling slightly ashamed of the relief that overcame him when he realized that it could not be Estel, but Tiriel continued: "The patrol searched the man´s possessions and found this." He handed Elrond a piece of paper; the elf lord took it and paled when he recognized Estel´s handwriting, informing him that his son intended to visit him; he had met a monk called Beruan who would come by Imladris´ borders soon and be able to pass the note on to the guards. "I expect to arrive only a few days after Beruan", he wrote, "I have some business to attend to quite nearby first."

Elrond stared at his son´s signature: "Love, Estel", and felt the sensation of sadness and fear grow stronger, confirming what he had been dreading for some days now: "He will not come", he whispered, and suddenly swayed so Tiriel quickly grasped Elrond´s elbow to steady him.

"My lord", he said uneasily, "we do not know for how long the monk has been dead exactly. Your son might still be on his way..." But Elrond only looked at the letter, his face stricken with grief; he now knew that the sadness he had felt had been his own, as well as the mounting fear, and that whatever had happened to Estel had to be something severe or it would not have affected his foster father so.

Tiriel cleared his throat: "My lord- what would you have me do?"

Elrond shook his head: "We have to find out who murdered the monk", he murmured as if he had not heard the captain, then suddenly he squared his shoulders with fresh determination : "And we will have to find out what business Estel did have to attend to, and where."

He finally looked at Tiriel: "Pray for my son to be still alive", he said quietly, "that is what I would have you do, Tiriel."

**TBC**


	3. Once was safe

Okay, due to the story line this chapter is longer than the first two, enjoy!

Chapter 3: Once was safe

Aragorn felt his numb hands tremble; his bound body was shaking violently, while an unnatural heat seemed to stifle him. He was not aware of the cold anymore, as all he could think of was water.

He also could not differentiate between being asleep or awake anymore, as the darkness was there anyway, and his mind was so dazed that he did not immediately realize when someone actually entered the room and approached him until he felt a tug at his chains. With an effort, he opened his eyes; a torch was blinding him, and while he blinked to cope with the sudden light, someone laughed maliciously: "How do you feel, ranger?", a deep voice asked. Aragorn did not recognize it and was too lightheaded to answer; his chains were being loosened, but before he could draw in a deep breath for the first time since he had been captured, he was wrenched to his feet. His legs would have given out, though, had someone not gripped his arms quickly. He was being pulled out of the cell and along corridors which were illuminated by torches; after a short while, they entered a cave-like room. Aragorn´s head was swimming and his vision slightly blurred, but he could see the mirror-like surface of a dark pool of water, it looked like a small subterranean lake.

The dark voice now had a face: it was an ugly creature, unmistakably an orc and an unusually tall one as well, who was now standing in front of the ranger, grinning: "See how you like some water after all this time", he hissed, and Aragorn suddenly felt himself being prodded forward; before he could make sense of the orc´s words, he fell into the water.

--

Elrond woke with a start: something was happening. He sat up, gasping for air; this was not merely a bad dream, and that thought scared him.

But at least he had organized a search party which would set off in the early morning; he had talked to the head of the patrol that had found the dead monk, and it turned out that Beruan seemed to have been in the small town of Brynn last, where the elf lord hoped to find a hint of what might have happened to Estel.

Elladan and Elrohir together with a few men of the guard would accompany Elrond; the twins had not seen their foster brother for months either, and both of them were quite worried when Elrond told them about his fears.

--

Aragorn gasped for air; he had to fight with all his remaining strength to stay surfaced, as the heavy chains were pulling him down, but his exhausted body was not up to this. At least the cold water had brought him out of his daze and cooled his burning skin, he thought somehow ironically, as he knew he would drown within the next few minutes; his limbs had been immobile for too long to support him, and he did not have his usual strength to count on. He heard the orcs laughing but simply did not care; he wished he could have seen his family one last time as his motions grew slower and he started to sink. He felt the water engulfing him, and he suddenly remembered a nice summer´s day years and years ago...

"_No, no, no, no, do not let go!", little Estel anxiously clung to Elrohir´s neck. Elrohir laughed: "Do not be afraid, little one, I will not let you drown! You can let go of me, I will still hold on to you!" Estel was not convinced, though; the water looked deep and scary to someone who´s own body height was under one meter, and it was enough to change his mind about wanting to learn how to swim._

_Elladan approached them, splashing water about: come on in, you two, it is lovely!", he coaxed. Elrohir grinned: "We are getting there." He patted his little brother´s back: "I will just go in a bit deeper, alright? Then you can see how nice the water is today." Estel nodded bravely, but enforced his grip around the elf´s neck to be on the safe side._

_The water was very pleasant indeed; Elladan started to splash about and at them again, and soon they were involved in a serious battle. Estel did not realize that he had let go of Elrohir with one arm, and the twin seized the opportunity and dipped deeper into the water until he was immersed to the shoulders. Estel squealed when he realized how deep they were in and hastily tried to get back to Elrohir, but the elf calmed him: "You are nearly swimming on your own, see? I am just supporting you with one hand, look!" The child still seemed suspicious, but made no further attempt to get back in its brother´s arms; instead, Estel started to flap his own arms around to keep himself afloat. _

"_Excellent", Elrohir praised the effort, "just try and move your arms like Elladan does." _

_Although Elladan showed him how to do it, Estel looked more like a puppy floundering about in the water, but he practised until he grew tired. The twins took him by the hands and pulled him back to the shore, the little boy shrieking in delight.  
_

Aragorn suddenly felt like weeping; what a comfort it was to have someone looking after you; how fortunate he had been to have a foster family who cared about him... and now he would leave them, not even knowing why...he could feel the pressure on his lungs, wondering how it would be to die...would he see his parents? His mother...

He started to choke when unexpectedly he felt someone grab his hair and pull, the pain shooting through him cruelly; several more hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the water, leaving him on the ground next to the lake, panting heavily.

One of the orcs knelt in front of him, it was the one with the deep voice; he looked about the man who was still gasping for air and smiled sardonically: "So, ranger... now you know how it is to be in our hands." Aragorn, though still fighting to recover, shook his head: "Who are you?", he croaked, for his voice was raspy from the previous lack of water.

At this, the orc laughed heartily: "This is good", he roared, causing some other orcs to laugh as well, "you do not even know who caught you? Let me tell you, then. We are your father´s worst enemies, which he will find out when he gets you back- or what is left of you, that is."

Aragorn stared at him, not knowing what to make of this; he had not seen his father in months. "What do you want?", he asked.

The orc stopped laughing and leaned towards him: "We want to rule over the country, ranger", he said quietly. "We know where you come from, and we want to get there and take over the realm." Aragorn, who had just managed to straighten up could not suppress a dismissive smile: "That is pathetic", he said, "you could never do that." A vicious blow to his temple sent him back to the ground, and for a moment little lights were dancing in front of his eyes.

The orc growled: "There are more where this one came from, ranger. Do not try to be cheeky with me." He watched as the man struggled to sit up: "You will tell me how to get there", he snarled, "and you will also tell me how it is protected. And if you are still alive by the time we set off, we might take you along, just in case you lied."

Aragorn tried not to show the fear that filled him at this words, he was already furious with himself that he had said anything at all, he had given away too much. How had they found out who he was anyway?

But he did not have time to contemplate this, because now he was being pulled to his feet again.

**TBC**


	4. No escape this time

Chapter 4: No escape this time

Elrond´s search party was on its way to Brynn; all of them were silent, even the twins. Elrond tried to imagine what might have happened to Estel, but all he could come up with was utterly terrifying, so he stopped.

In his mind, Estel would probably forever remain the little boy that had become his foster son at the tender age of two; he had bonded quickly with the little human and could still recall the many times that Estel had shown him how much he loved the elf in return. Elrond involuntarily smiled as he remembered one day that was his wedding anniversary with Celebrian, a day which saddened him deeply each year; Estel, though only four years old, had picked up the mournful mood his foster father was in and had reacted to it in a completely unexpected way.

_Elrond sighed heavily and pulled back the covers of his bed; to his surprise, something was lying on the pillows. He picked it up and identified it as Brown, Estel´s stuffed horse. It was slightly dirty and loved off in several places, but offered comfort nevertheless, and Elrond recognized it as what it was supposed to be: a precious gift from someone who cared. _

_He felt such an overwhelming rush of love for the boy that he turned on his heels and went to kiss Estel goodnight, still clutching Brown. He entered silently and for a moment marveled at how beautiful the moon was illuminating the child´s room, then he approached the bed, not wanting to wake Estel. He soon realized that the little boy was still awake, however, silently crying into his pillows. _

"_Estel." , Elrond said worriedly while sitting down on the bed. "What is wrong?"_

_Estel turned his head towards him, but instead of an answer, he only looked longingly at Brown. _

_Elrond smiled: "Look who wanted to come back to you", he said, holding the horse out to Estel. The boy sniffed again: "But I- I gave him to you!" "And I am very happy about that", Elrond replied, "but I think Brown needs you more than I need him." "He _does_?" "Oh yes, he loves you so very much, and he wants you to be happy, too." "But you are not happy." "I am much happier now that you were trying to help me", Elrond said and took the little boy in his arms: "And I, too , love you very much, little one."_

--

_Ada_, Aragorn thought and bit his lips once more not to scream; the orcs had tied him to a wall, his arms spread, and started to question him; when he did not answer, their leader had started to place emphasis on his questions by using a slender knotted leather strap as a whip; Aragorn´s back was so torn already that it was difficult for him not to cry out loud. He could feel his blood running down his body, and his vision was blurred; he knew he was going to pass out soon and was actually looking forward to it, as he did not think he could stand it any longer. Apart from his back which was searing with pain, his arms and shoulders ached hellishly, his wrists were flayed and he was aware that the fever was still there as well. When he finally lost consciousness, the orcs grunted disappointedly but released Aragorn´s chains nevertheless; they dragged him to the room he had been in before and tied him to the wall again, winding the chains around his body.

When Aragorn came to much later, he wondered what the strange sound was that reverberated through the room, it seemed like someone was in pain. It took him a while to realize that it was himself who was moaning loudly because of the agony his body caused him. He tried to stop and concentrate on something other than the immediate situation, which was difficult due to the high fever that was burning in him, dazing his mind. They had put the chains back on, bearing painfully against his wounded back; he still did not remember how they had caught him, nor could he imagine how they had discovered his true identity, as he was keeping it secret very carefully.

The cold was worse now that his clothes were still clammy; he leaned his burning forehead against the wall, closed his eyes again and moaned quietly, not being able to suppress it any longer. Despite the haze of fever and pain he was suddenly aware that it really did not matter if it meant that he had given up, being too weak to endure this, but he wanted it to end. There was one thought he could neither get rid of nor was ashamed of anymore, now that he had been so brutally tortured: _I should have drowned_...

**TBC**


	5. Ghosts and Stories

Here goes! Thank you **Oleanne** for your review (hey- one is better than none at all! Hint, hint...), I therefore dedicate this chapter to you- hope you´ll like it!

Chapter 5: Ghosts and Stories

--

Elrond incredulously stared at the old woman: "You know what has happened?", he asked, his bewilderment clearly audible. She nodded: "Everyone does, but theys won´t tell, nay." She cackled; Elrond exchanged a glance with Elladan, who stood right next to him: the woman might not be the most reliable source, his expression said.

When they had entered Brynn, people had openly stared at them, but some had also disappeared into their houses and closed all the doors and windows; Elrond found the atmosphere awkwardly tense, and when he had started to address someone, he was met by silence.

"Is it just me, or do you feel a certain antipathy as well?", Elladan whispered to his twin. Elrohir shook his head: "I think it is not just you but everyone who is elvish", he replied, looking exactly like his father when he frowned. "They look at us as if we were unreal."

The group had finally reached a small marketplace in the towncenter; that was where they had met the old woman who had not been afraid of them but even had advanced them, openly revealing her curiosity.

Elrond did not want to waste any time, but he was desperate to talk to anyone who might know something, so he decided to interrogate the woman further: "Would you be so kind as to tell me what has happened, then?" The old woman shuffled her feet: "Aye", she agreed, "but it takes precious time, see, and I makes my living selling eggs here on the market..." Elrond sighed inwardly: "I grant you that I will reimburse your effort, my lady." At this, the woman cackled again: "I is no lady, nay..."

It took a while for them to get the whole story out of her indeed, but Elrond finally had an idea of what was going on: in the previous summer, brigands from the east had settled not far from Brynn and started to harass the townsfolk; even worse was that they had apparently gotten involved with strange dark creatures which had started to roam the lands some time ago. Those were the personifications of nightmares, being evil and fearsome; Elrond knew immediately that the woman was talking about orcs even though she did not have a name for them.

Not long ago, the orcs had had no need for the brigands anymore and murdered them, and since then, they were dreaded even more in the small town. They had threatened to murder the people as well if they did not cooperate and then started to question them about the not too far away living elves. Somehow they had come across the name of Strider as well. The old woman recalled a winter´s day when several orcs had entered the pub and threatened to slit open the landlord´s throat if he did not point Beruan the Monk out to them; when they had found him, they threatened him as well until he admitted that he knew a ranger called Strider who had once helped him when Beruan had fallen off his donkey and broken his leg so badly that he had been delirious with fever and pain. Strider had calmed him in the elven tongue and seen to the wound, and when the monk had asked him about it later, he had just smiled and said that his father had taught him; that is all the monk had known but it was enough for the orcs to put the missing pieces together.

They had let go of Beruan that day, but it did not save him in the long run, Elrond thought sadly. He was slightly puzzled that the orcs had managed to discover Estel´s secret, as they usually were not very clever. They had, however, even managed to capture him, and at this thought Elrond´s heart clenched together painfully.

"That monk, see", the old woman said, "he was forever blabbering about the ranger who had an elven father, that´s how those foul beasts came to knows about him in the first place." She seemed quite proud to have offered that bit of information. "And theys knew when Strider was about to come here. I wonders if Beruan has told them..." Elrond wondered about that as well, but it would not make a difference any more.The orcs had ambushed Estel and taken him away as far the old woman knew.

"Did anyone see it happen?", Elrond pressed, "do you know if Est- Strider is still alive?" The old woman shrugged: "I does not know for sure, theys knocked him out cold is all I hears."

Elrond nodded tiredly; this left several possibilites, but as they had taken Estel they would probabl y hold him hostage in order to get into Imladris, if that was was they were planning.

"Do you know where they dwell?", he asked, not expecting an answer to this one, but to his surprise, the old woman nodded: "Theys have made camp in some old stronghold whats left in the woods", she replied. "It´s partly derelict from what I hears." Elrond´s thoughts raced: an old stronghold? He did not know there were any around here, but then, the woods were deep...

--

Half an hour later, the search party had set off towards the orc´s camp.

"I do not think it wise to just rely on some old woman´s tales", Elrohir said. "What if she has sent us into the wrong direction, or if she has lied anyway?"

Elrond did not answer, but just smiled sadly and rode on.

His son knew what this meant: that Elrond could sense the truth behind the woman´s words, and that he was scared of what they would find.

Elladan tried to distract him: "At least it explains why the townsfolk behaved so awkwardly towards us", he said, "in their eyes, we are responsible for what they had to endure."

His twin only nodded. Try as he might, he could not stop thinking of Estel; he desperately hoped that his foster brother was well. _I hope he is not afraid, he thought, I hope he is not alone in the dark..._

--

_Elrohir was staring into the flame of a candle; he had been reading until late, and now he was too agitated to go to b__ed yet, his mind full of thoughts. He eventually got up and stretched, but then he hesitated; there had been a sound, and now it had disappeared again._

_He listened intently; yes, there it was again. With wide strides, Elrohir went to his door and opened it, and there, in the dark hallway, he found his little foster brother, clutching his stuffed horse to his chest and looking terrified._

"_Estel", the not very surprised elf said, "what is wrong?" Estel merely sobbed. Elrohir pulled the child in his arms: "What is wrong, little squirrel?", he repeated. _

"_There were ghosts in my room"__, Estel sobbed, "I could see them." "But there are no ghosts in Imladris, little Squirrel", Elrohir soothed, "did you not know?" Estel shook his head. _

"_Let me show you, then", Elrohir said, lifting the boy up and carrying him back to his room. He stopped to p__ick up a blanket to wrap the little one in and then went onto the balcony with him, sitting down in a chair. _

_The night was dark and cold, only very few lights could be seen in the valley._

_Estel hid his face against his brother´s shoulder at first, being too afraid to look around. But the elf´s calmness reassured him at last, and he finally turned his head and followed Elrohir´s gaze. "Look", Elrohir whispered, "all is quiet. And you can see the stars...all those stars are watching over you, little one, so you do not have to be afraid at night."_

"_But can they see me when I am inside, too?" Elrohir subdued a smile; he should have expected this. "Aye, of course they can", he assured the little boy. Estel still looked a bit sceptical at this but did not answer back. Instead, he rested his head against the elf´s shoulder and gazed into the darkness, where no ghosts were waiting for him..._

--

Aragorn´s mind wandered restlessly, and it took him a while to realize that he was awake; he could not even tell if his eyes were open or closed due to the impenetrable murk surrounding him, and his fevered mind was too dazed while simultaneously trying to blend out the pain. The blackness seemed as thick as fog and as solid as a wall, and Aragorn believed to make out eerie shapes in it, moving about perpetually and mocking him for his helplessness. A thought slowly appeared out of nowhere, and he would have laughed bitterly if he had had the strength: there might not be any ghosts in Imladris, but certainly there were some here, wherever _here_ was...

**TBC**


	6. How To Get There

Thank you all for your reviews, I appreciate every single one of them! So, find out what poor Aragorn is going through in chapter 6... Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: How to Get There**

--

Elrohir rode up to his father´s side: "What sort of stronghold would that be, in the middle of the woods?", he asked.

Elrond frowned: "I cannot but think that it might have had something to do with Mordor, all those years ago.", he said quietly. "Only the foul creatures that dwell there would seek to hide like that and not be afraid of any attacks due to the location." His son nodded: "So the old woman might be right. I just wonder of how much use it can be for them if it is partly derelict."

The older elf´s frown deepened: "They will have built large parts underground...", he murmurmed, "for storing weapons and keeping prisoners. All those people who had simply disappeared back then..." He did not want to remember that dreadful time, but apparently he even had to re-experience it.

--

_Sometimes his father was so sad that his face looked drawn and grieved, and Estel knew that the elf was thinking of Celebrían then. He had been told what had happened to her but could not quite comprehend it all at the age of six; he tried to make his father feel better instead. Elrond usually preferred to be alone on those days, but his foster son sometimes came to him in the middle of the night, crawled under the bed covers and snuggled against his father, thus comforting him and helping him to find some rest. __The boy usually lay awake for a while, listened to Elrond´s quiet breathing and felt utterly safe._

Aragorn stirred, something was wrong, causing him to feel panicked: he could not hear his father anymore, and it was so cold... and suddenly he knew that he was alone, awkwardly drifting through a black void, trying to get away from his body because it pained him too much. Time and space were lost and becoming increasingly meaningless for him; there were other presences, similar to the shadows he had thought to see moving about, but these did not mock him. They rather seemed to wait for him, filling the void with anticipation.

Before he could try to reach them, he was being held back, though: he felt a sudden change, something else that could not be right, and only a while later realized that someone was shouting at him, mercilessly shaking his body in doing so. Aragorn screamed when the pain returned; he was only dimly aware that the orcs laughed at this, but he would not have cared anyway, as he was beyond that now.

The orc that had been shouting at the semi- unconscious man angrily shook his head: "Bring me some cold water", he ordered, "I need the filth to wake up!"

One of his soldiers hurried away and quickly returned with a bucket which the orc tipped over Aragorn; the man winced, but did not open his eyes, he was too far gone. The orc grunted and knelt down in front of his prisoner: "You will talk to me", he hissed, "no matter what!" He drew his knife and plunged it into the man´s upper arm: Aragorn gave another weak scream, his eyes finally fluttering open. He only saw blurred shapes moving about, and the new pain demanded all of his attention. It had brutally torn him away from the presences in the void, and it had only been able to do so because of the previous attempts to wake him, as they had diverted him when he had needed to concentrate. He would not let that happen again, he did not want to be back here...

One of the shapes in his line of vision moved closer towards him: "Rivendell. Talk!"

Rivendell... he had not been there for such a long time... yet the name sounded utterly promising, and it felt good to hear it. He wanted to tell the shape about it, how beautiful it was and how to get there, because it was a good place to be... it felt so safe...

--

Elrond´s party halted; the elf lord felt a strong urge to ride on, but they had to give the horses and themselves a rest and a bite to eat, it would be of no use if they exhausted themselves too early. If the old woman had not been misinformed, it was merely another two or maybe three hours´ ride; the stronghold was supposed to be situated next to a small arm of the Mitheithel, therefore they would just have to follow the river once they had reached it.

Elrond did have no illusions about the risk they were taking: he had not wanted to return to Rivendell and get reinforcements, it would have taken too much time. They were only six against an unknown number of orcs. He therefore agonised about the stronghold, trying to imagine how it might be constructed.

Elladan stepped to his side: "I know you worry, Ada", he said, "as they might try to barricade themselves in as soon as they know they are under attack. And we cannot make sure that they will not harm Estel in order to keep us away, or worse. But they do not necessarily have to have the adavantage on their side", he added, intuitively answering one of the questions Elrond had asked himself. "They might not even have guards out, and if we´re quick..." He fell silent when his father looked at him, a sad smile on his face: "It is very noble of you to try to reassure me", he replied, "but it is far too risky. We do not know the building, and what if they spot us and kill Estel?"

Elladan was shocked to see how disheartened Elrond really was. He did not know how to answer this either, so he remained silent. In his opinion there was only one way to go, wether it was too risky or no. He could not have said so of course, as it meant to disregard the lives of all who were involved and thus resolved into utter foolishness.

He went back to his twin and sat down next to him. Elrohir looked at him, effortlessly reading his expression: "Tell me what you think."

Elladan hesitated: "Either we succeed or not", was all he said. Elrohir smiled benignly, knowing exactly what his brother meant.

"Well, in a few hours we will find out", he said, "there is no turning back."

--

Aragorn was oblivious to the orcs that had come for him; they hissed at him and kicked his lifeless body, but when he did not react, they left, muttering disappointedly. Aragorn did not hear them: he was back in the void, back with the presences. Only this time, they were beckoning to him.

Soon afterwards, the orcs´ leader stepped into the small chamber; when he found his prisoner perished and unresponding, he hit the wall in frustation. He would very much have liked to use the man, as it would have made things easier, but as it looked, the scum would soon be dead, too weak to endure how they had treated him. The orc scornfully spit on the ground and turned to leave, when something came to his mind. A grin slowly spread on his face: he had always considered himself as cunning, and the idea he had just had seemed excellent.

"We will leave at dusk", he told his men, "and we´ll take the human filth with us."

His soldiers looked at each other in question. Their leader snored impatiently: "He´s of no use to us anymore, I know, but we´ll drag him along nevertheless; I wanna see that elven vermin´s face when he receives the remains." The orcs still looked confused: "You mean to _drag_ him?", one of them asked just to make sure.

The leader nodded, laughing roaringly: "Yes, _drag_! I´m sure the elves won´t be too delighted if they get him back all ground and messy. And if he is still alive when we set off, well- then he might even entertain us a bit more..."

The orcs cheered at the very idea, and their leader was content with himself; after all, he had to keep his troups motivated, and this surely would do. They just had to make some last preparations and would reach Rivendell the day after next, if he had guessed correctly from what the delirious man had told him, obviously not being aware of his surroundings anymore. The orc grinned maliciously at the human´s weakness, only regretting that the man would never get to know that he had finally betrayed his secret.

**TBC**

Author´s note:

The river Mitheithel is a river in Eriador that is large enough to likely have arms like the one mentioned in the above chapter; it is not too far from Rivendell as well and therefore perfectly suited my needs. It is, like the original storylines and characters, not mine but belongs to Prof. Tolkien...


	7. Stay

**Chapter 7: Stay**

--

Elrond´s party had set off again and soon reached the Mitheithel; they continued along the river, eventually watching out for the old stronghold.

The orcs were busily moving about in the courtyard, fastening their gear onto their warg´s saddles and preparing to leave. Two of them had gotten Aragorn out of the caves and were now tying a thick rope to his bound hands.

"Make sure the rope doesn´t come off", the orc´s leader ordered, "even if the filth is of no use to us anymore, we don´t want to lose it." The orcs nodded obediently, sniggering in anticipation. By the time they were done, all the other orcs had assembled and started to mount the wargs. The leader held up his hand: "We´ll ride through the night", he announced, "that way-" He did not get to finish his sentence, but was suddenly propelled forward by the impact of an arrow now protuding out of his neck. He stumbled and fell flat on his face, not moving anymore. The orcs looked at him in surprise and confusion, but soon more arrows came flying, and only now did they realize that they were under attack.

--

When Elrond, the twins and the three members of the guard had observed that the orcs indeed had not set up any watches, they had split up and surrounded the building. Due to its state of decay it had proved no problem to climb the outer walls. It seemed that the elves had come just in time, as the orcs obviously intended to leave.

Elrond groaned inwardly at the sight of the wargs, as they would have to be killed as well, which meant more targets in even less time.

The elf´s throat constricted when he discovered Aragorn´s lifeless form, and he strained his ears to understand what the orcs next to him were saying: "...we don´t want to lose it."

Elrond gasped, the sentence reverberating through his mind: _It_? Did that mean Aragorn was dead, if the orc was referring to his body like that?"

The elf lord swallowed hard. He could not let himself dissolve into despair right now. They had to strike before the orcs left, otherwise some of them might escape.

He looked over to Aragorn once more, then forced himself to concentrate. He had soon made out that the orc whom he had heard speaking was the group´s leader. Elrond watched the orc stepping up to the warg in front, unaware of the elf who now held his longbow and was aiming at him.

The elves had agreed that as soon as Elrond would strike, the others would follow, as they could not risk to communicate and be detected.

Elrond waited until the orc´s leader had the attention of the entire group and started to speak, then he released his arrow. He did not wait to see how the orcs reacted; there were probably fourty of them, and they could not afford to waste precious time.

The elves had soon put down several wargs and nearly half the orcs, who had meanwhile started to try and defend themselves; Elrond tried not to think of his son, who was lying amongst the havoc, hopefully still alive. But if that was the case, would the orcs not have tried to use him as a means of negotiation or extortion by now? Several of them had instead fled back inside the building, and the others had tried to find shelter behind their wargs. This had not proven to be such a good idea, as the animals were maddened by the arrows and smell of blood; some of them had started to rip the dead orcs apart, others were snapping after those still moving around. Thus, the orcs´ defense was a weak one, and it did not take the elves long to bring them down, as well as the remaining wargs.

Elrond hurried to get down to the courtyard, which he reached at the same time as Elladan.

"Have you seen him?", his son asked at once. Elrond nodded: "I would appreciate your help", was all he said, not wanting to think of what they might discover, and turned to Elrohir, who had joined them by now: "Pray take the others and search the building for those orcs who have sought shelter in there. Leave non alive."

Elrohir did not let show his astonishment at those words; Elrond seemed to have hardened considerably, and without any further comment, hurried towards where he assumed Aragorn to be, Elladan at his heels.

--

Elrond had been right; they found Aragorn underneath a dead orc, which they shoved aside impatiently. Elrond knelt down beside his son, who lay on his side, and closed his eyes for a second, dreading what was to come, but eventually reaching out to feel for the human´s pulse. Aragorn´s skin was cold to his touch. Elrond felt tears well up behind his eyes, as his fingers searched in vain; it took him a while to recognize that the soft flutter he did feel was indeed Aragorn´s pulse, if far too weak. The elf, who suddenly felt shaky, spoke a silent prayer and opened his eyes: it pained him to behold how pallid his son looked, how his entire body was covered in blood and dirt, telling of what he had been through recently.

Elrond bent low over Aragorn to listen to his breathing; it was shallow and somewhat laboured.

Elladan knelt on the other side of his brother, being too shocked to speak. Elrond´s face mirrored his eldest son´s expression. It took the elf lord a moment to regain his composure, then he sent Elladan to get his pack; in his present state, Aragorn would not survive the ride back to Imladris. Elrond gently took Aragorn´s cold hand in his right hand and laid the left one on his son´s forehead, concentrating. He feared that the human was beyond reach, trying to escape his captors and the pain they had inflicted on him. He was running a high fever as well, but nevertheless the elf had to let him know that he would be safe, that he was not alone anymore.

--

Aragorn approached the presences; it took him incredibly long to get there, as the distance seemed to change constantly. Sometimes he seemed quite near, and then again he could barely see them at all. But he was determined to get there, although he could not remember why. All he knew was that it was safe in the void and the presences would be able to guide him further.

He strained to get there, he desperately wanted to reach them, when there was a change again. This time though, it did not feel like being interrupted; there merely was an additional presence, one he could not see. It felt like someone was caressing him, easing his fear, but it was far away and quite abstract. He was afraid to turn back, as he knew it would mean more pain, more coldness and despair, yet the feeling of being comforted increased. Unsure what to do, Aragorn stayed put.

--

Elrond´s gaze was firmly locked onto Aragorn when Elladan returned with his father´s bag; the younger elf knew what his father was doing, so he started to unpack. It took a while until Elrond broke his concentration; his eyes were sorrowful when he looked at Elladan. He did not say anything, though, but started to see to Aragorn´s body.

Elrohir joined his family as soon as he and the other elves had chased down the remaining orcs. It had not been a simple task, as the elves indeed did not know their way around the building, but the orcs, bereft of a leader, had acted literally headless, and in addition to that, they apparently did not know how to avoid making too much noise. The elves had had no difficulty at all to hear them, wherever they had tried to hide.

After Elrond had assessed Aragorn´s numerous injuries, he looked up at his twins: "Aragorn´s mind is far away in order to avoid the pain", he said gravely. "I fear that we might lose him if I am unable to reach out to him, which I have tried before. I think he might know that I am here now, but I have to maintain the connection, otherwise he will drift away. The fever will make it even harder to get through to him, so I must ask you two to see to his wounds."

Without further consideration, the twins nodded. They were willing to do anything if only their brother would live.

Elrond nodded as well: "The wound on his arm needs stitching; his back, however..." He stopped, as his voice failed to form the words. He had immediately known that those injuries had been caused by a whip, and the nauseating sight made his heart clench.

Elladan, who had seen the wounds, cleared his throat: "We will disinfect it and dress it well", he assured his father, "as well as the wrists and the temple."

His father gave him an appreciative look:"I think the left wrist is broken", the elf lord continued when his voice was steady again, "and some of his ribs might be fractured. It looks like he has been heavily bound, as the marks of thick chains are clearly visible all over his body. Apart from that, he is dehydrated and far too cold to the touch, that means you will have to try and warm him. Prepare a tea against the fever, it will help against the cold as well."

"Do not worry, father", Elladan said, "we will bring him through this."

Elrond subdued a sigh, not being so sure about that, then he moved nearer to Aragorn´s head and started to concentrate again.

The other three elves had meanwhile begun to remove the various corpses that were lying around Aragorn and build a fire right next to him. Elrohir had made sure that none of them had been injured before he had joined his father and twin; it was rather untypical for his father not to have thought of that himself, which meant that Estel was in serious danger indeed.

--

The void seemed to stretch endlessly. Aragorn no longer cared where to go; he lingered in the dark and was only dimly aware that the presences had come nearer again. He could feel their beckoning, but the new presence was still there as well, and it seemed to become stronger, gently coaxing him away from the others. He could not have followed it, as he drifted through the dark without being able to determine a direction, but now he did not only feel it but heard it as well: a gentle voice that pleaded for him to listen, to stay...

**TBC**

Author´s note: Okay, that is not too evil a cliffhanger...so, look forward to the next chapter!


	8. Do Not Let Go

To my reviewers: thank you all for your lovely and kind words, I am very happy about them! This chapter is loaded with emotions, so enjoy the fluff!

--

**Chapter 8: Do Not Let Go**

--

Elladan sat still, his arms slung around his knees, staring into the approaching darkness of night. The sky had turned into a dark blue of velvety quality, and the air was cooling considerably, but the elf did seem to notice neither.

They had seen to Estel´s injuries as best as they could and made him swallow the tea; now they had to wait. Elrond was still sitting by Estel´s head, so deep in concentration that he had not moved once, and the twins knew that it did not look good if their father had to work so hard.

Tiredly, Elladan laid his forehead on his knees, wanting to be alone for a moment, not being forced to think for a while... but he could not stop it, Estel was occupying his mind entirely.

He remembered a day when Brown, his foster brother´s beloved stuffed horse, had disappeared. Estel had been four years old...

_Elladan was sitting at his desk, writing a letter. He was so deeply immersed in thought that it took a while for him to realize that someone was watching him. He looked up and discovered little Estel standing next to him, barely able to peer over the desk. His eyes were sad and on the brink of tears, Elladan noticed: "Is everything alright, little squirrel?", he asked and laid down his quill. _

_Estel shook his head: "I cannot find Brown." _

_Elladan reached out and pulled the child onto his lap: "Do not worry, I am sure he cannot be far", he said, knowing how important the stuffed animal was for the young human. _

_Estel very hard tried not to cry now: "But I have looked everywhere", he half-sobbed, "and maybe he ran away because he fell out of bed last night." _

_Elladan subdued a smile: "I do not think that Brown would abandon you just because of that", he soothed, "and he certainly would not simply run away. How about if I help you find him?" _

_Estel nodded, but could not remember when he had last seen him, so they started to look for him in Estel´s room, then went to the dining hall and to all the other places where Estel might have been that day. They did not find the horse, though, and Elladan started to despair as well. What would he do if Brown had indeed disappeared? _

_Estel, however, seemed positively emboldened by Elladan´s help and was not prepared to give up soon: "We can ask Ada", he said, as if answering his brother´s worries, for Elrond always knew what to do._

_They found the Elf lor__d in his study: "Brown has gone missing", Elladan explained, "and we were hoping you might have seen him." _

_Elrond wrinkled his forehead: "Let me think... did you take him to breakfast this morning?" he asked Estel. The little boy shrugged, slightly embarrassed that he did not know. Elrond smiled: "I do not think I saw him at the table, therefore he might have stayed in your room." "I thought so too, but we did not find him there", Elladan said._

_Elrond pondered this: "And what about the bathroom?" _

_Elladan looked at Estel: "We did not look there, did we?" _

_Which was where they finally found Brown; he had fallen into the tub and was slightly wet, but Estel was so overly happy to have him back that he did not mind..._

Elladan smiled at the memory of this; it was such a long time ago, but he had never forgotten it. He looked over to his human brother, who was not young anymore but still looked it, albeit his face had more lines now than it had had the last time they had met.

--

Aragorn still lingered in the void. The original presences seemed to have retreated, he could barely make them out in the distance, whereas the new presence seemed to have gotten a hold on him somehow. He wondered if this should worry him, but it actually felt too good: he forgot about the pain and the fear, as if someone was taking a burden off him. And now he could hear it again, the voice that called his name and talked to him: it caressed his soul. He listened intently, absorbed every word, not wanting to miss anything. He did not realize that the voice made him stay, prevented him from drifting off, and the void lost more and more of its power over him.

--

Elrond could feel that Aragorn was no longer departing but was sensing his father; the elf therefore spoke of home and love, of family and safety and love, again. And Aragorn finally recognized the presence to be his father´s, which sealed the bond between them that would guide the man back to the light.

--

In the small hours of the night, the twins were startled by their father´s voice: "Rest now", he said, "I will watch over you..."

And although they were both very tired and had dozed off eventually, they immediately knew what it meant: that Elrond had succeeded in calling their brother back.

--

"I think we can dare to ride home", Elrond said the following morning. "He should be stable for now, but I must properly attend to him once we are back."

Elrohir looked at him worriedly: "Does that mean he is still in danger to drift off into darkness again?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Elrond smiled sadly: "He might", he said, "as his body is battered and he is still not sleeping but unconscious. I was not able to wake him yet."

--

The ride back to Imladris was strenuous indeed, the group pausing every so often but not wanting to waste any time, and all of them painfully aware of how hard this had to be on Estel´s body. When they finally reached the Last Homely House, all of them spoke a silent prayer out of gratitude.

They carried Aragorn to his room where they gently laid him on the bed; they removed his torn clothes and cleaned his body, then Elrond unwrapped and treated the numerous injuries consecutively. Aragorn´s back was the worst, being completely covered in gashes and fissures and having bled profusely. The twins had already cleaned and disinfected it, but some of the wounds needed stitching as well.

Afterwards, the elf lord re-dressed the whole of Aragorn´s back. They rested the man on his side, as it would make breathing easier for him, and covered him with warm blankets.

Elrond then looked up to his twin sons: "You have been a true support", he said, "and I deeply appreciate it. But you should go and rest now, as you have hardly slept last night." "Nor have you", Elladan replied, smiling fondly.

Elrond, in spite of his sorrow, smiled as well: "Do not worry about me, my son", he said, "I would not find any rest anyway now, and I cannot leave Estel´s side as long as he has not woken up yet."

The twins did not try to argue, but silently left. They knew they would fare better by getting some sleep and be fully alert afterwards than trying to stay awake despite their fatigue.

--

Elrond sat down next to Aragorn, whose fever-flushed face was drawn and tense, despite the pain-relieving herbs that his father had mixed into the water they had given him. His breathing was still slightly laboured, evidence of the hypothermia which hopefully would not cause pneumonia even though it already had affected Aragorn´s lungs.

Elrond´s gaze rested on his foster son while he tried not to think of the horrors that the human must have gone through. He would not have admitted it to his twins, but he was more than afraid to lose Aragorn, even though they had had some difficulties in the past. He still had the note that had been found among Beruan´s possessions; Aragorn had signed it with "Love", which could only mean that he had forgiven him. At least the ranger had planned to pay him a visit, had he not?

Elrond wiped his eyes: whatever had happened or would happen, the human would forever be his son, his Estel. He should never have doubted him, and he deeply regretted that now. But the only way he could show the man that he still loved him, still cared for him with all his heart, was to try and help him leave the darkness behind, lead him back to the light...

--

The feeling of floating through the air decreased as Aragorn became aware of the pain that flowed through his body. He tried to get away from it but could not, because now his father was there, too, holding on to him, soothing him... the man was still afraid of the pain, dreading what might wait for him, but he trusted his father, he always had.

_Aragorn, my child... come back to me, follow me to the light... I will be there for you, you need not fear anymore. My __beloved son..._

Elrond tightly held onto Aragorn´s hand, when his son let out a faint moan; the elf gently stroked the human´s temple, willing him to wake up.

--

Aragorn struggled to come to; he was deadly tired and his body protested harshly, but something still caused his mind to force his way back to the surface, and then he felt someone holding his hand firmly.

He somehow managed to squeeze the other hand slightly: _do not let go_, this was supposed to mean, _I am here, I am on my way back to you. _

Elrond slowly let out his breath when he felt the weak pressure; only now did he realize that he had been holding it.

"Estel", he whispered, "Estel."

--

**TBC**


	9. Truth Be Told

Har har, quick as lightning do I post this new chapter just one day after the last... I have to admit that I got addicted to this and just couldn´t stop writing anymore. Apart from that, I´m going on holiday for a few weeks and intend to complete _Home and the Heartland_ before I´ll leave. So, here´s even more fluff for you, enjoy!

--

**Chapter 9: Truth Be Told**

--

Aragorn slowly opened his eyes. At first, the light was too bright to see anything clearly, and it took him a while to focus. He felt dizzy and nauseous as his whole body pained him. Heat seemed to engulf him and slacken his senses. He could not recall what had happened, but there was a feeling of dread, and for a moment, he wondered where he was. This was answered when he tried to move; a hand on his shoulder gently kept him from doing so, and someone said: "Careful, do not strain yourself."

It took Aragorn a moment to register the voice as Elrond´s, and then the elf knelt down in front of him, so they could look at eachother.

Elrond could hardly bear how worn out the human looked, now that he was awake. His eyes were glazed over if unusually dull, and his features betrayed what he had gone through. The elf gingerly stroked his son´s hair: "Estel", he repeated fondly. Estel wondered why his foster father looked so worried and tried to smile, but a new wave of pain made him wince, and he closed his eyes in the effort to fight it off. Elrond quickly got to his feet and retrieved a cup of a pain-relieving potion he had prepared earlier; it was slightly stronger than before, but he had not dared to give it to Aragorn as long as he had been unconscious, because it appeared to be strongly sleep-inducing.

He supported Aragorn´s head and helped him drink it; the man did not even try to object, which was rather unusual for him. He was so weak that he simply complied, Elrond noticed. While he held Aragorn, he could feel the heat radiating from him. He was well aware that his son´s defeated body had no means left to fight the fever. Elrond and the twins had made him swallow some broth earlier, but it would need more than food to restore Aragorn´s strength.

Elrond closed his eyes.

--

Elrohir lay awake for quite some time; tired as he was, he could not get rid of the pictures in his head, and he was worrying.

Aragorn had always shown an astonishing strength, even when he had been doubting his own ways. Life had often played hard on him, and Elrohir had watched how his younger brother had finally retreated into exile. The elf suspected that this had not only happened for the reason of self-protection, but because Aragorn had not been able to bear the increasing disputes with Elrond any longer.

_Estel tried to avoid that anyone__ got hurt_, Elrohir thought, _but he hurt himself instead, and neither of us has truly recuperated ever since he has left the last time._

And now history seemed to have repeated itself. How hard this must be on his father... he was once again struggling against dark forces, and he did not know for certain if he would really be able to help Aragorn, if he could save his soul from suffering. He had already lost Celebrían, what if he would fail to save Estel?

Elrohir felt so devastated at this prospect that he finally got up and walked over to his twin´s room. Elladan was asleep already, his face pale and exhausted. Elrohir cautiously climbed on the bed and under the covers. When he felt the movement, Elladan stirred and mumbled something but did not wake; Elrohir simply snuggled against him like he had done when they had been younger. This was the best aspect of being a twin, he thought: to be always able to seek comfort in eachother.

--

Aragorn dreamed; now that he was sleeping, his overstrained mind tried to cope with what had happened. The fever had brought his defiances down and he was forced to relive horror and fear, as myriads of pictures and voices whirled through his head.

Elrond had expected this and therefore was not surprised when his son started to shift uneasily, moaning and whimpering quietly as if afraid to be heard. Elrond had been cooling Aragorn´s skin with a cold cloth which he now laid aside. He had not been successful in bringing the fever down yet, and despite his efforts to calm his son down, the man started to shake violently. When it finally subsided, Elrond was shaking himself. He had never been one to lose his nerves easily, but this situation severely unsettled him. He felt oddly helpless, which was something he had hardly experienced before. He did not immediately notice that Aragorn had opened his eyes, but now a faint movement called his attention: the man tried to take the elf´s hand. Elrond quickly extended his and held on to his son: "Estel", he said, kneeling down in front of the bed again, "I am here."

Aragorn looked at him, his eyes pained and strangely upset: "Ada...", he managed to say, his voice barely audible. "I betrayed you..."

Elrond was puzzled. What was Aragorn talking about?

"Do not worry about that now", he said, trying to soothe the man, but Aragorn continued: "Told them...about Rivendell" , he whispered. "Betrayed you..."

Exhausted, he closed his eyes for a moment, but forced them open again.

Elrond laid his hand on his cheek and gently stroked it: "I am sure you did not have a choice", he said sadly. "Those evil creatures are merciless and cruel, and no one could have withstood their mistreatment for long."

Tears welled up in Aragorn´s eyes: "Weak...", he sobbed, "Too weak!"

"_No!_", Elrond said emphatically, leaning forward: "No, you are not! Estel, please believe me: you have endured more than most people would have survived at all! And those orcs, as mindless as they are, know how to torture and dispirit. You have done nothing wrong, my son, and I will not hear of it again!"

Despair stayed in Aragorn´s gaze until Elrond gently wound his arms around him, careful not to touch his injuries: "Do not worry", the elf said softly, "for your tormentors are dead, and you are safe now..."

Quietly, Elrond began to sing. It did not take long until he felt the tautness in Aragorn´s body lessen.

--

A few hours later, the twins found Elrond fast asleep, crouching next to the bed and still holding Aragorn´s uninjured hand.

Elladan knelt down next to his father: "Ada", he said softly and laid his hand on Elrond´s shoulder, "wake up..."

Elrond blinked, then sat up with a start: "What-" "Do not worry", Elladan said, "we just wish to send you to bed."

His father stared at him: "_You _wish to send _me_...?" He could not subdue a smile: "I suppose the time comes when the children take over..." He got up and nodded: "Very well, I think I should go to bed indeed." He looked at Aragorn: "He has woken up and his fever finally started to decrease", he said. "He is sleeping now, but his mind is heavily burdened with the memories of what has happened, and he thinks that he has betrayed us in telling those foul creatures of Rivendell."

The twins looked at eachother, lost for words. This was hard enough on their younger brother, he did not deserve to suffer like that.

"His sleep cannot be peaceful and curative then", Elladan finally said.

Elrond shook his head: "That is what ails me", he said so quietly that it could have been a whisper, and left.

--

Elrohir´s eyes swam: "This cannot end like _then_", he said, his voice unsteadily, "I will not let it happen!"

Elladan nodded, not knowing how to reply. He had no idea what would happen if Aragorn´s mind would not recover, if he would be as badly affected by his experience as Celebrían had been. What would Elrond have his foster son do? The twins did not know.

Elrohir finally settled down where Elrond had sat before. "I want him to know we are here", he said, taking Aragorn´s hand. Elladan sat down next to him and continued to cool Aragorn´s still hot skin. "Estel", he suddenly said after a while. "You will not dare to give up, do you hear me?"

Elrohir looked at him, somewhat surprised, but agreed loudly: "He is right, little one, we will not allow you to leave us!"

Elladan nodded grimly: "You have always been strong, you will not relinquish now or you will have to answer both me and Elrohir for it!"

Elrohir could not but grin: "Listen carefully to him, little one."

He was startled when unexpectedly Aragorn answered back, his voice faint and weary, but slightly wry nevertheless: "That... does not hold true anymore..."

The twins turned to him: "What do you mean?", Elladan asked.

Aragorn´s eyes glinted somewhat mischievously: "Little one."

That rendered both the twins speechless for a moment, until Elrohir started to laugh: "Did you hear everything we said?", he enquired.

"Cannot know...can I?"

Elladan smiled: "How do you feel, Estel?" His voice betrayed his relief.

"Soundly thrashed..."

Elladan stroked his foster brother´s temple: "We will see to that, little one."

"Am not...anymore..."

"Oh yes, you still are", Elrohir said, "and I am afraid you always will be."

"Am not...betrayed you..." Suddenly, Aragorn´s voice sounded appalled.

The twins exchanged a glance before Elladan spoke again: "Why do you think that?"

"Remember telling them...about Rivendell..." Aragorn started to shake.

Elrohir quickly got up and grasped his foster brother´s shoulder, trying to calm him: "You did _not _betray anyone!", he emphasized, "you certainly have been in no state to judge anymore, otherwise you would never have said anything at all, stubborn as you are."

But the shaking became even worse. Elrohir only looked at his twin: "Help me", he muttered, and together they gently lifted Aragorn´s upper body up until he leaned against Elrohir. The twins cautiously embraced their younger brother, not wanting to cause him further pain but make him feel secure.

Elladan hummed a quiet tone under his breath. The shaking eventually subsided and then stopped.

"Estel", Elrohir said earnestly, "we do not lie to you. We do not think of you as one who would give away a secret easily, and we need you to believe us. You did neither betray father nor us or anyone else in Rivendell. Please, stop reproaching yourself. You cannot regain your strength if you do not believe in it, little squirrel."

At this, Aragorn drew in a deep breath. "Sound like Ada...sometimes..."

Elrohir just smiled and laid his cheek against Aragorn´s head: "You will be fine, Estel", he said fondly. "And we will be with you."

--

**TBC**


	10. Brown Is Back!

--

**Chapter 10: Brown Is Back!**

--

Aragorn soon fell asleep, and they laid him back down on the pillow.

Elladan wetted the cloth anew and continued to cool Aragorn´s forehead. "He will recover", he said confidently. "He has always been hardier than any of us would have believed at first."

Elrohir nodded: "He was so small when he first arrived here", he murmured. "And yet he was brave. Just remember how we taught him to ride."

Elladan chuckled: "He really believed that we wanted to put him on Asfaloth for the first lesson. But he did not show how afraid he was..."

His twin nodded. In fact, this was one of the few times that they witnessed Aragorn to be this desperate, as he had never given too much of his feelings away once he had grown to be a man.

Elrond blinked; he had been fast asleep and for a little while just lay in peaceful oblivion until he remembered what had happened. He got up and dressed; he was hungry, but wished to check on Aragorn first. It was late afternoon, so he had slept for a good eleven hours, which was unusual for him.

Elladan and Elrohir still were with their younger brother when Elrond entered; they eventually had stopped applying the cold cloth, as the fever had diminished steadily. Both of the twins were reading now, Elrohir sitting where Elrond had sat before.

They looked up when he entered.

Elrond nodded to them, then he asked how Aragorn fared.

"The fever is nearly gone", Elladan said, "and he is sleeping calmly now."

"Really?", Elrond exclaimed, hardly able to believe what he heard. "How did that happen?"

"He woke up earlier.", Elrohir said. "You were right, he was heavily troubled by guilt, but we talked him out of it. I do not know if it will last, but at least he went to sleep."

Elrond smiled: "You have always been good at negotiating", he said. "I should not be surprised."

--

Aragorn´s sleep indeed remained undisturbed, his mind having been calmed by his brother´s words and their presence. It did him good, and when he awoke, the fever was gone, his eyes not glazed over anymore.

He could not stay awake for long yet, for he was too exhausted, and Elrond´s medication contributed to that.

So Aragorn slept for most of the following days, allowing his body to recover and his injuries to heal. Sometimes he dreamed, but those dreams were vague and not as threatening as before. Elrond had seen to this, mixing a mild sleeping potion into Aragorn´s water to impede the nightmares.

As the lash wounds had started to mend well, Aragorn was lying on his back now, relieving his side. His father was with him often, as were the twins. They took it in turns to make sure he was not alone.

--

One afternoon, Elrond was sitting next to the bed again; he had been reading, but eventually his thoughts had drifted off, and now he was deeply lost in thought. It took him a while to realize that he was being watched, and when he lifted his head, he saw that Aragorn was awake, a faint smile on his face.

Elrond laid his book aside and returned the smile: "How do you feel?", he asked.

"Old and weary", Aragorn replied, still smiling.

Elrond sat down on the bed: "Oh, you know", he said lightly, while he casually started to examine his son´s injuries, "according to human standards, you _are_ close to getting old, after all."

Aragorn chuckled but stopped as soon as his ribs started to protest. Elrond´s fingers gently probed the fractures, causing the man to grit his teeth: "I will be ageing prematurely if you do not stop this", he complained.

Elrond raised one eyebrow: "And now you sound just like you did when you were a child", he teased.

Aragorn sighed: "Sometimes I wish I still was a child", he said half-jokingly, but his tone was sad.

Elrond pulled the blanket back up around him: "All of us do, from time to time", he said.

Aragorn looked at him in surprise: "Even the elves?"

Elrond nodded: "No matter how fortunate or long your life may be, the blissful innocence of childhood will never return once you have passed into adulthood.", he said.

They remained silent, pondering this, until Elrond finally got up: "I will get some food for you", he said, "I will be back in a minute."

--

Aragorn watched him leave the room and let his gaze wander. He had not been here for a long time, but nothing seemed to have changed, and that thought was strangely comforting. He turned his head to look at the old mural above his bed, when something else caught his eye. He smiled; right next to him on the top of the pillow sat Brown, his old stuffed horse.

With some difficulty and lots of grimacing he reached out and pulled the horse to him. He had no idea where it had come from, he had not seen it in years, but it seemed like an old friend. It had so much been a part of him once that its features were overwhelmingly familiar. He knew exactly how Brown felt and smelled, and it made him feel good even now. "You look as worn out as I", he said and nestled the horse against his chest.

When Elrond came back with a tray, Aragorn was quite sleepy again. His father set the tray down and noticed the stuffed horse: "Ah yes", he smiled, "Brown. Elladan brought him here, thinking you might take comfort in his company."

"I did not even know that he had him", Aragorn said, struggling against sleep.

"Neither did I", Elrond said. "But Elladan said he recalls lots of occasions where the whole of Imladris has been searching for Brown, maybe he wanted to avoid for that to happen again."

"Brown indeed had a tendency to disappear...", Aragorn admitted.

He suddenly looked up and caught Elrond´s gaze: "How did you find me there?", he asked quietly.

Elrond hesitated. He did not have the heart to tell Aragorn of Beruan yet, as he neither wanted Aragorn to get upset, nor to think about the subject of betrayal right now.

"That is a long story, and you are tired", Elrond therefore said. "You should eat something and go back to sleep. All this has sufficiently depleted you already."

Aragorn sensed that there was another reason why Elrond was avoiding his question, as he looked slightly uncomfortable. It was true that Aragorn was not up to lengthy conversations yet and that this was indeed the first time he had stayed awake for so long, but after all, they had not talked that much.

He did not press the matter, though; there would be plenty of time for questions to be answered later on.

--

Long after Aragorn had fallen asleep again, Elladan entered.

Elrond was still sitting next to the bed, and his oldest son stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the grieved expression on the elf lord´s face.

"Ada", he said, alarmed, "is something wrong? Did the fever come back, or did Estel panick again?"

Elrond looked up: "No, no... I am sorry if I startled you. Estel is well, he has indeed proven to be strong once again. I was just thinking... he asked me how we found him, but I did not dare to tell him yet. Beruan was something like a friend to him, and I did not want to burden his heart, not now."

Elladan nodded, when his gaze fell on Aragorn´s sleeping form. Brown was lying next to him, the horse snuggled against the man´s cheek. The elf smiled: "I knew he would want him again one day."

Elrond subdued a smile: "Will you ever accept that Estel is a grown man, my son?"

Elladan crossed his arms: "As long as he sleeps with his stuffed horse...no, I will not." He grinned complacently.

His father only shook his head.

--

**TBC**

--

Author´s note: Yeeha, the lightning´s back as well... but as I said, I have to be quick as I´ll be leaving in a few days... the next chapter will be up very soon as well!


	11. Comfort

The lightning, formerly known as (_frantically typing_) Firefly-Maj, greets all faithful reviewers and readers! Here are the last two chapters! It´s somehow developed from major angst to major fluff, but that´s how it goes sometimes. There´s an author´s note at the very end, dedicated to Calenlass Greenleaf 1, ElindielStargazer, Elfinabottle, Oleanne and Thorongirl.

Enjoy!

--

**Chapter 11: Comfort**

--

Slowly, Aragorn recovered. He did not sleep as much anymore, and Elrond started to reduce the amount of pain relievers and other medicaments he was giving him.

Aragorn was glad to be able to move more freely as his body healed, although he was not allowed out of bed yet. He did not complain about it this time, which was unusual for him, but the truth was that he did not trust his body yet. He had never experienced this before and endured his brothers´ teasing about it without comment. Whenever he went to the bathroom, which was the only time he was permitted to get up, he was glad to be back in bed afterwards, feeling too insecure being up.

"I think", Elrohir said one day, "that Estel only acts in what he assumes to be an inconspicuous manner during the day, and goes sneaking about at night."

Elladan shook his head, playing along: "And here we were, believing that he had actually complied to Ada´s ministrations." But as he said it, he actually sensed the truth behind it.

As long as they could remember, whenever he had been ill, Aragorn had insisted that he in fact was not and tried to leave his bed.

This time, however, he seemed to have resigned to his situation.

--

Later that evening, Elladan went to Aragorn´s room alone.

Only one small lamp was lit, producing a homely glow.

The ranger was dozing but opened his eyes when his brother sat down on the bed.

They looked at eachother.

"What ails you?", Elladan asked softly.

Aragorn hesitated. "I do not remember what has happened", he said after a while. "And I ask myself how it _could_ have happened in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Elladan... I have been a ranger for years now. I have been living in the wild, and I can look after myself. I can defend myself, and I am careful. So how have those orcs been able to catch me like that?"

Elladan sighed. It was as he had suspected, Aragorn apparently did not trust himself anymore.

"It was a trap", he said quietly. "They had found someone in Brynn whom they could interrogate about you."

Aragorn´s throat constricted. "Who?", he whispered, although he thought he already knew the answer.

"Beruan." Elladan lowered his head.

They fell silent for a while, until Aragorn spoke again: "Did they...what did they do to him?", he asked, barely audible.

"They shot him", Elladan said gravely. "He was found near Rivendell´s borders." And he told Aragorn all he knew about it. He knew how hard this was on his foster brother, but he had to understand what had happened, otherwise he would forever doubt his abilities.

Aragorn remained silent for a long time after Elladan had ended. The elf waited patiently, intuitively knowing that there were no words of solace right now which would help the man.

"Elladan", Aragorn finally said, "will you stay with me, please?"

So the elf lay down on the bed next to the man.

"What order did Beruan belong to?", he asked after a while. Although Elladan´s presence calmed him, Aragorn was wide awake; too many thoughts were rushing through his mind, keeping him from falling asleep.

"He actually did not belong to any", Aragorn murmured. "He said he would not have fitted in anyway, so he lived on his own as what in his opinion came closest to a monk´s equivalent. Hence the donkey", he added.

Elladan did ask no more, leaving Aragorn to his thoughts. He could see now why Aragorn had taken a liking to Beruan: because the ranger could identify himself with the monk to a certain extent. It even explained why he had confided in him a little. He surely regretted that now, or did he? No, Elladan decided, Aragorn was not one to think ill about someone so quickly. And no one knew if Beruan had in the end betrayed him willingly.

At least, Aragorn seemed to have abandoned his feeling of guilt about his own betrayal, if it could be called betrayal at all. Elladan reached out and took his brother´s hand, gently stroking it with his thumb: "Do not worry anymore", he whispered. "Time will heal it..."

Eventually, Aragorn´s mind calmed down, and he fell asleep.

Elladan, however, stayed awake, watching over him.

--

Elrond stood on his balcony; the air was chilled, but refreshing, and the elf sought comfort in the light of the stars.

He had wanted to look in on Aragorn only to discover that Elladan was with him, and thus had retreated unseen.

He was still worried about his son, who had never seemed so utterly defeated before. It would probably take a lot of time and patience to restore his spirit, and Elrond was not sure if Aragorn still felt at home enough in Imladris to stay, apart from let his family help him.

--

**TBC**


	12. Home and the Heartland

--

**Chapter 12: Home and the Heartland**

--

Little did Elrond know that Aragorn indeed felt safer than he had for a long time. Though he liked living outdoors and being entirely self-dependent, it was different from belonging somewhere.

As the ranger lay and listened to the waterfalls in the distance, he deeply regretted that he did not truly belong here anymore, that fate had not allowed him to keep the only home he had ever known. He sighed, far from feeling sorry for himself. He just wished he could turn back time in order to save himself and his foster family a lot of sorrow and trouble.

Without thinking about it, Aragorn slowly sat up. Although he had already been up to go to the bathroom several times, each movement seemed strange to him, and his body let him know that he was likely to overexert himself, as it had not had much exercise for a long time now. Aragorn did not heed it however, and proceeded to get up. Once he stood on his feet, his head was swimming, but it subsided after a moment. The man took a deep breath and somehow made it over to the balcony. He clutched the balustrade with his uninured hand in order to steady himself, ignored the slight dizziness in his head due to the pain that this caused in his wounded arm and looked around. While he was marveling at the sight and deeply breathing in the fresh air, Elrond entered.

He saw at once that the bed was empty, but remained calm, as he knew Aragorn could not be far. When he discovered him on the balcony however, he quickly followed him outside: "Estel", he said, not able to conceal the worry in his voice, "It is far too cold for you to be out here."

Aragorn beheld him apologetically: "I just wanted to have a look", he murmured and turned. Elrond saw that he was shivering and swaying slightly, so he supported him back to the bed.

"I understand", Elrond said, tucking his son in. He indeed understood, and more so was overly glad to see that Estel was turning back to his old habits, meaning that he had finally taken up new courage.

Estel smiled faintly: "You always did", he said, "even when you did not approve."

Elrond smiled as well, sitting down on the bed: "Sometimes it was hard not to", he admitted. "You and your brothers always seemed to have a good reason for whatever mischief it turned out to be."

Estel nodded, still smiling.

"Estel", Elrond said, "I gather Elladan has told you about Beruan?"

Aragorn nodded again, looking sad now.

"Well...", Elrond said, "I have received the note you had given him, and... I am happy that you had planned to visit. I am indeed happy to have you here, though the circumstances should have been different, of course."

Aragorn looked pleasantly surprised, which pained Elrond: "Our last meeting has been unfortunate", he therefore continued hastily, "and I want you to know that I did not mean those harsh words I said. You are, after all, still my son, and my love for you remains unaltered, no matter what."

"But the problem will not change...", Aragorn demured uncomfortably. "I cannot deny my feelings, Ada. Thus I do not know what to do. And I have just proven to be weak, so I cannot possibly expect you to give in. The only solution is for me to leave again..." He fell silent.

"Estel." Elrond reached out and took his hand, as he had so often done before: "We might not come to an agreement about that matter soon, but at least I wish for there to be an understanding. I meant what I said about my daughter, but I have to redeem my words about human weakness, because you have proven not to be weak, even if you will not hear of it now. What I, and undoubtledly your brothers as well, have assured you is true: you have been strong beyond measure to have survived the mistreatment those foul orcs have inflicted upon you." He paused, taking a deep breath: "And you are strong enough to go on, I know you are. Your will is not broken."

"How do you know?", Aragorn whispered, his eyes swimming. "You have not been there, although I deperately wished for you to be, so you could have protected me...I have never been so helpless, and when the pain became too much, I wished to die... I had given up, Ada, so how can you say that I am not weak..."

Elrond, bereft of an answer for the time being, quickly leaned forward and took Aragorn in his arms, holding him tightly and letting him weep, having been moved to tears himself: "I am so sorry", he gasped, "I am so sorry I could not protect you, my child. I wish you would not have had to suffer so much... But you _have_ survived!"

He gently stroked Aragorn´s hair, calming both his son and himself: "And I will tell you how I know that your will is not broken: it is not because I would not have been able to call you back from the darkness. You were still there, I was still able to reach out to you, which I would not have been, had you truly given up."

Aragorn leaned against his father just like he had done when he had been little, and let those words sink in. They warmed his heart, and without him knowing it yet, sparked new hope.

"Ada", he said quietly, "I have missed you."

Elrond gently tightened his hug: "And I have missed you", he said, equally quiet. "You do know that you are always welcome here, right?"

Aragorn sighed; maybe he had not lost his home after all.

"I will not forget it again", he said. "Rivendell is always in my heart, as are you, and the others."

"Talking of strength", Elrond put in, and looked at him, a smile in his eyes: "You will be fine, Estel", he added more seriously. "You will one day rise above the height of your ancestors, I have no doubt about it. But first we will have to get back on your feet at all, and that will take some time."

Aragorn nodded, feeling as if a huge burden had fallen off him.

"Elladan and Elrohir said they are planning on staying for a while as well", he said.

Elrond threw up his hands in mock despair: "Valar!" he wailed, but the smile never left his eyes.

--

**The End**

--

Author´s note: Wow, this is my first really long story, and it feels strange that it´s over now. You do become strangely attached to it while you´re writing it (yes, yesss, my precioussss...), so this feels like goodbye. It does anyway, because I´ll go on holiday tomorrow for three weeks. How I´ll miss my laptop! But as we´ll live in the great outdoors in true ranger fashion, I better leave it at home, that way it can recover...

So, a huge thanks to you who have taken the time to review, I truly and honestly appreciated it, and I hope that you might read and like my future stories as well! You have been great, I´m sending hugs to all of you, and roses, and swiss chocolate... bye for now! Have a good time and take care!

Love, Firefly-Maj


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